Hailing from China, Jingshu Li is the President of the Chinese Mums Association WA, a volunteer organisation established in 2020.
Speaking to how the association was created, Jingshu says her background as a counsellor working with new mothers experiencing postnatal depression brought about opportunities for social bonding and supporting one another.
What started as small workshops on wellbeing and caring for newborns grew into hosting bigger events and activities, attracting women and mothers who were looking for a supportive social group to join. Today, the association has around 400 registered members and have enabled Chinese mothers and children to connect, build meaningful relationships and share cultural traditions with the wider WA community.
This includes a festival marking the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2025, in partnership with MostWA and Shoppe on Langley Park, with the second coming up this Sunday 20 September 2026.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon or Mooncake Festival, dates back about 3,000 years.
The festival is celebrated by Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities around the world to celebrate harvest, family reunions and the full moon.
Observed on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar each year, families will get together for a meal, share mooncakes and light lanterns at night.
As a migrant to Western Australia, Jingshu reflects that many migrants might feel they miss out on important celebrations and creating memories with loved ones who are in another country.
She says the festival carries a powerful message for people, as looking up at the moon serves as a reminder that although someone may be separated from loved ones by distance, they are still connected under the same moon.
"For people who travel away from their hometown and miss their hometown and family, they will watch the moon and it reminds them that they're still sharing the same moon.
“This is why the Mid-Autumn Festival carries a lot of meaning beyond that of just a festival," she says.
Jingshu explains that the Mid-Autumn Festival also carries a deeper message about the rhythms of life.
She says just as the moon waxes and wanes, life is marked by periods of joy and hardship, as well as moments of reunion and separation with loved ones.
“The festival reflects the philosophy that life moves in cycles ... and reminds us to cherish our time together, value the people around us and that the past keeps moving forward to the future,” she says.
Some customs associated with the festival include the mooncake, which Jingshu explains is exclusively eaten during the festival as making the delicacy is a complicated and delicate process.
Members of her family also handcraft lanterns with children to play with, creating a valuable bonding experience while passing on these important traditions to younger generations.
She explains that rabbit lanterns are significant because of the legend of the moon goddess, Chang’e, who is said to live on the moon with her rabbit companion.
With the full moon symbolising unity and togetherness in Chinese culture, Jingshu laughs as she reflects on the festival’s traditions.
“It’s all about the food!” she says.
“We have lots of big dinners … and invite the extended family across generations.
“The full moon is about reunions, it’s about completeness and family connection, so that is a time for us to come together and celebrate.”
The festival is also enjoyed in the wider community through cultural performances, music and activities.
Inspired by these vibrant community events, Jingshu and the Chinese Mums Association WA co-host the Perth Moon and Lantern Festival to share the traditions and stories with the wider WA community.
Jingshu recalls that many of her childhood memories of the festival are of mooncakes.
“That’s my body memory, I grew up in China and I’m a first-generation migrant, so my memories always come with my food, taste, smell of the tea as well,” she says.
She speaks of the importance of sharing these stories and experiences of the festival with her children, as something to pass on to them to keep their cultures alive and to build that deep connection.
Jingshu goes on to explain that marking the Mid-Autumn Festival in WA is particularly meaningful as the State’s multiculturalism aligns closely with the festival’s spirit of connection.
She said it allows communities to celebrate and preserve their cultural traditions while building connections with people from different backgrounds.
“I think we’re all human beings,” she says.
“We all carry the same best wishes for harmony, respect, connection, and I think this is why it’s important to me.”